Versions
by Miyagino Asakura
Summary: Leviathan versions of short stories, fairy tales, songs, poems, classics, real-life experiences, and the like. A collection of one-shots.
1. Sleeping Beauty

I've been meaning to work on this sometime ago, so ta-da!

Disclaimer: Do I look like Scott Westerfeld to you?

* * *

Like most fairy tales, this one starts out with a wish. And this wish was what caused this to all happen in the first place. But what is that wish, you might ask? That simple wish was made by Artemis Sharp and his wife, the king and queen of the Darwinist Kingdom.

Their wish was to have a child. Again.

They had a son, Jaspert, who renounced being the heir to the throne, and dedicated his life to serve in the army. That was a fatal mistake, as the Darwinist kingdom and its neighbor, the Clankers, were at war. Jaspert was never seen again. (But he was DEFINITELY not dead. He just disappeared.)

After two long years, their wish was granted. The queen finally gave birth to Princess Deryn Sharp. Because of that, the kingdom called for celebration. They invited everyone who was anyone: the subjects of the Darwinist kingdom, the three fairies Lilit, Adela Rogers, and Dr. Nora Barlow. They also invited the king of the Clanker kingdom Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie Chotek, as they called for a small break in the war to celebrate.

But they forgot to invite, unfortunately, the evil guy Nikola Tesla. He makes everything a big deal. And since he wasn't invited, that technically makes him no one. That, and he'd been holding a grudge against the Darwinists for a while.

Back to the party, though, as King Franz and King Artemis were feasting on wine, Queen Sophie showed King Artemis their one-year-old son, Prince Aleksandar. And an outrageous idea came to King Artemis.

"Say," the king said merrily, "How about we make your son have an arranged marriage with my daughter?"

"What?!" King Franz protested, having a spit-take. "My son marry your daughter? But they're still babies!"

"No! I mean when Deryn reaches sixteen, and Aleksandar is seventeen. Think about it: if our children get hitched, then we will be able to form an alliance with our warring kingdoms and peace will reign throughout all of Europe."

"In my opinion, that is a genius idea, Franz," said Queen Sophie who was tending to Alek. "You should agree with the proposition of King Artemis. After all, you said yourself you wanted this bloody war to be over without anyone surrendering."

Franz Ferdinand paused for a while, then turned to the Darwinist king. "Fine," he said. "I will accept your proposition. Deryn and Alek will be married when Deryn reaches sixteen. But if our children disagree, the war will rage on." The king then glanced at Princess Deryn, who was sleeping soundly in her crib, and then turned to Alek, who was peacefully asleep in his mother's arms. "But that seems highly unlikely, because these two will definitely fall for each other once they see each other."

"I agree," said King Artemis, and the two laughed as they toasted their wine cups together.

"Hark! Hark!" The Duke Eddie Malone called from his station, interrupting the whole crowd. "The three fairies will now present their gifts to the princess."

With those words, Lilit and Adela ran from the buffet table to the crib. Dr. Barlow excused herself from the conversation Count Ernst Volger and she were having, and went to the crib.

Adela went first to grant her wish. She pulled out her magical pen and notepad, which whatever she wrote on it will come true. Adela wrote on it as she dictated, "My gift to the Princess is intelligence and good common sense." She tore the paper out of the notepad, put it on the Princess's forehead, and the paper disappeared, signifying that what she said will come true.

Lilit came next, pulling out a magical, harmless bomb from her pocket. If Lilit throws the bomb, it will grant whatever she wants. "Since Adela was kind enough to steal my present," she said, "I will give you the gift of beauty inside and out." With that, she threw the bomb at Deryn. It exploded, but it did not destroy the palace. Instead, out came some fairy dust. It scattered all over Deryn, making her sneeze, but the gift was given either way.

Dr. Barlow approached the crib, pulling out a regular fairy wand. "My gift to you is-" The fairy was interrupted by a crack of thunder, and in stormed the evil guy, Nikola Tesla.

"Hello, King Artemis and everyone else," Tesla said politely, but he was giving everyone the cold shoulder. "I see you are having a party without me. There must have been a mistake or something. Why wasn't I invited?"

King Artemis was about to apologize, but was interrupted by Dr. Barlow saying, "You weren't invited because you weren't wanted!"

Nikola Tesla became furious. He stormed up to Deryn's crib, pointed his magical walking stick and hissed, "I have a gift for you! Before the sun sets on your sixteenth birthday, you will prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and you will die!" He turned to the king and queen of the Darwinist kingdom. "Do you understand me? The princess you love so much WILL DIE!"

Tesla used his walking stick to create lightning, and with that he disappeared, leaving the king and queen too frightened to move.

Franz Ferdinand turned to King Artemis who was too stunned to speak. "Face it, man," he said. "The deal is off now that your daughter will die at sixteen."

"Wait!" Lilit said. "Dr. Barlow still has her gift!"

The queen of the Darwinist kingdom turned to Dr. Barlow. "You started it," she said. "You fix it."

"I'm not as good as Tesla is when it comes to his type of magic, mechaniks," she replied calmly. "But I'll do what I can."

Dr. Barlow pointed her wand at Deryn and murmured, "My gift to you is life! When the spindle pricks your finger, you won't die. Instead, you will fall into an enchanted sleep, and you can only be awakened by your true love's kiss."

Those words calmed the Darwinist king and queen down a little, but they were still uneasy. So the king decreed that all the spinning wheels of the kingdom be burnt. The king and queen also thought it would be safer if Deryn did not live in the palace, so they asked the fairies to look after her.

Adela, Lilit, and Dr. Barlow became peasants, hiding away their magical items to keep Deryn safe. They moved to a cottage in the woods, and instead of calling Deryn her real name, she became Dylan and was forced to dress up as a boy to hide her true identity.

* * *

"Hey, Adela, may I go out into the woods again? I'm bored," said Deryn.

The years flew by quickly, and today was Deryn's sixteenth birthday. Tesla searched far and wide for the princess, but couldn't find her since she dressed up as a boy. His messenger eagle was still searching far and wide for her, but did not have any luck.

And Deryn herself did not know why she dressed up as a boy, or that she was a princess. But she simply followed what the fairies told her, except for when it came to walking around in the woods. Deryn always found interest with all the beasties that lived there, and the beasties themselves had a connection with her.

"Sure," Adela replied, focusing more on the mirror as she fixed her hair. "Just don't reveal your real name to anybody you pass by. And go collect some blueberries while you're at it. Lilit's making cheesecake. Remember, you should be back once you're finished."

"Thanks!" said Deryn. She grabbed her coat and bag and ran downstairs. She left the house and quickly gathered blueberries for the cake. After, she decided to wander around instead of heading back, hoping to see a stranger or anyone.

Around the same time, Prince Aleksandar, or Alek, was talking his walker for a spin through the woods. His pet, Bovril, stayed on his shoulder. Everything was going well for him, aside from the fact that he had to meet the princess he would marry later.

_I can't believe it,_ he thought to himself. _Why do I have to marry a person I don't even know? Don't I have the right to marry who I want to marry? I know it will bring peace to Europe and all, but still... I can't believe my parents set me up for this._

The walker was passing by a pond when Alek's thoughts were interrupted by Bovril, who jumped off his shoulder and started toying with the walker's controls.

"No, Bovril! Don't!" The prince commanded, but Bovril simply chuckled and pressed the shiny red button.

"Explosion," said Bovril.

But the walker did not explode; instead, it fell into the pond, causing the front window to break and get Alek wet.

"Ugh!" Alek complained, then turned to Bovril. "This was my favorite jacket!"

The beastie simply chuckled.

As if on cue, Deryn arrived at the scene. Her blue eyes lit up upon seeing Alek stuck in that pond, and she couldn't help but laugh at the pathetic boy. "Barking spiders," she said between laughs. "I knew weird things were out in the forest, but I didn't expect this at all!"

"Enough with the pity, good sir," Alek said with gritted teeth. "Do me a favor and help me up."

Hearing that made Deryn frown slightly. She wondered how could he not see that she was a girl in trousers, and she had to admit that the boy in front of her was quite cute. But she quickly got rid of the frown and helped him up.

Alek proved to be heavier than she thought, and because of that she stumbled after helping him up. Alek landed on top of her, and she was forced to stare into his green eyes, which seemed to reflect the woods she loved so much. She kept staring until she realized the positions they were in. Deryn pushed him off her and giggled in embarrassment.

"S-sorry," she stammered, blushing.

"It's all right," Alek said, removing his wet jacket and slinging it over his shoulder. "But what are you doing here? These woods are quite dangerous, being filled with all those beasties."

"I... uh... happen to live nearby," said Deryn.

"Who in their right mind would build a house in the middle of the forrest?" Alek said with a raised eyebrow.

"N-never mind that!" Deryn tried to drop the subject. He would probably ask her if he could get help from those at her house, and Adela would kill her for bringing someone-a boy all the more-over.

Alek stared at Deryn, whom he thought was a boy. He thought there was something weird about her/him. She/he blushed a lot for no apparent reason, and she/he seemed to act slightly like a girl. Her/his voice also sounded slightly like one, but Alek put those observations aside for now.

"I didn't catch your name, by the way," Alek said, stretching out his hand to that boy. "I'm Aleksandar. You are?"

Deryn looked at the outstretched hand. _Should I tell him I'm a girl or not?_ she thought. _Surely I could have at least one other person who knows I'm a girl and not a boy._ So Deryn shook the boy's hand and said, "Dy-Deryn. Deryn is my name."

"Deryn?" said Alek. "Isn't that a girl's name? Wait! You're a...?"

"Girl?" Deryn finished for him, smirking with her arms crossed. "Is it that hard to guess?"

"Well, yeah. You wear trousers and your hair is boy-short."

"Ha ha ha! Boys are so blind! You all the more!" Deryn snorted. "But you're not so bad, Aleksandar."

"You think so? And you can just call me Alek. It's easier to say than Aleksandar," said Alek. Then an idea occurred to him. "Do you think I can just go to your place this evening? I have somewhere I need to go to this afternoon, but I'm available this evening. And I would like to know you better. Is that okay?"

"You just became bad, Alek," Deryn cooed. "Are you trying to stalk me?"

Alek then realized how what he just said sounded, and he started blushing. "W-what?" he stammered. "No! I just want to know you better because I don't get why you're dressed up as a boy when you're so beautiful!" Alek quickly covered his mouth, wondering why he said that last word.

Deryn blushed as well, the smirk disappearing from her face. "B-beautiful?"

"N-never mind that!" It was Alek's turn to drop the subject, and he looked down to his formal boots.

As if by instinct, Deryn started to brush her hair nervously and muttered, "You're really weird, Alek. But I'll admit, you're quite cute as well." Alek looked up as Deryn sighed. "Well... You could visit later... I guess..."

"Really?" Alek asked, his hopes rising.

Deryn nodded. "Sure. But you'll have to come late since Adela doesn't like it when people suddenly come over." She paused. "I've been meaning to ask by the way, what's that thing on your shoulder?"

Alek turned to where Deryn was looking, and he saw Bovril on his shoulder. "Oh, Bovril? He's a perspicacious loris. It was a birthday gift to me from a fairy when I was born. But Bovril seems more like a curse than a gift."

"Perspicacious? That's beyond my English."

Alek laughed. "Mine as well."

"Not a curse!" said Bovril. "Gift!"

"Well isn't that cute," Deryn smiled. "Come here, Bovril." Bovril jumped off Alek's shoulder and started playing around with Deryn, repeating most of what she said and having a conversation with her. Alek couldn't help but stare at them in amusement, though he was staring at Deryn more-her eyes that looked like the ocean, her hair that looked like the sand on a white beach, the way her eyes twinkled like stars when she laughed-it was as if she was a reincarnation of nature.

Bovril jumped off of Deryn's shoulder and went back to Alek's, but the boy wouldn't stop staring at her. Deryn crossed her arms again and smirked. "Enough with the staring, good sir," she said. "Do me a favor and stop looking at me like that."

Alek snapped out of it and laughed uncomfortably. "So, what time may I go to your place later?"

"I'm thinking 9:30. How does 9:30 sound?"

"Great. How do I get to your house though?"

"It's a walking distance from this point. You go straight from here and you'll see the house after 5 minutes."

"Okay. I look forward to our 'date', _Mr_. Sharp."

"D-date?! Mr. Sharp?! It is NOT a date. It is simply a get-together, and since when did I become Mr. Sharp?"

"A get-together, late at night, in your house. Not a date. And you became Mr. Sharp the day you started cross-dressing." Alek pushed the walker out of the walker, pushed open the hatch and was about to climb in when he looked at Deryn and said, "It's been... stimulating."

Deryn started blurting out random words, then pointed at Alek and said, "We aren't done yet, mister! I expect you will be there at exactly 9:30, and when we see each other, we will have words."

Alek smiled. "I think I can live with that." He climbed in the walker, closed the hatch, and after a few minutes, the walker was walking away.

Deryn stared after the walker, a dreamy smile coming to her face. "Stimulating..."

"Agreed," came a voice.

"What the-?" Deryn looked down and saw that Alek left Bovril behind. She picked the beastie up. "How did you get here?! Good thing your owner is coming later. It looks like he dropped his curse."

"Not a curse!" Bovril snapped. "Gift!"

"Aye, I get it." The girl put Bovril on her shoulder. "Let's go home now, shall we?"

"A get-together, late at night, in your house. Not a date," Bovril repeated.

Deryn stared at the beastie, then understood. "BARKING SPIDERS!" she exclaimed. "What the hell did I get myself into?!" With that, Deryn ran home quickly, the loris chuckling on her shoulder.

Little did Deryn know, a messenger eagle was watching nearby, and it smiled evilly after hearing Alek and Deryn's conversation. As Deryn ran home, it flew quickly and landed on the chimney of the cottage. The eagle saw three ladies, the youngest trying to prepare a cake and the older ones trying to sew a dress.

"It's no use!" the youngest complained. "We'll need our magic items to make a cheesecake good enough for Deryn!"

"Well, at least this dress is turning out well," said the other one who was sewing the dress.

"What do you mean, Adela?!" complained the one being measured. "This will never fit Deryn! Lilit's right. We need to get our items."

With that, the one named Lilit pulled out a bomb and threw at the table. After the dust cleared, a beautiful cheesecake appeared. The one named Adela brought out a notepad, scribbled something, and a pretty dress appeared on the table. Then a knock came from outside.

"Dr. Barlow? Adela? Lilit?" Deryn called. After some seconds, she entered the house and was greeted by the three fairies.

"Happy birthday, Deryn!" they said in chorus.

Deryn pulled them into a group hug and said, "Thank you so much, guys! Man, I forgot I was turning sixteen today!"

Lilit handed Deryn the cheesecake, which already had a candle on it, and said, "Here! Blow the candle and make a wish."

Deryn paused, then blowed the candle. Everyone clapped. Then Lilit piped up again and said, "So, what did you wish for?"

Adela punched Lilit's shoulder. "She can't tell you, Lilit. It won't come true."

Deryn giggled. "Oh, it's all right. It will come true anyway."

"What did you wish for? Tell me!" said Lilit.

"I can't explain it properly," Deryn said. "But I happened to meet someone in the forrest, and we... clicked. Sort of. Well, he did call me beautiful..."

"You wished you could see him again?" said Dr. Barlow.

Deryn only nodded.

The three fairies sighed and huddled up. "Should we tell her already?" asked Adela. "She's sixteen after all."

Dr. Barlow replied, "We should. We are bringing Deryn back to the palace, right?"

Lilit nodded. "Sadly. Sixteen years flew by so fast." The fairies turned back to the girl, who had a big smile on her face.

"Deryn, we haven't exactly been honest with you..." Lilit began.

"Hm? What?"

"You had to dress as a boy for your whole life because..." Adela said.

"You are the princess of the Darwinist Kingdom," Dr. Barlow finished.

"W-what?!" Deryn couldn't believe it.

"You'll return to the palace today because you'll be married to the prince of the Clanker kingdom tomorrow," Lilit said.

"How can this be?" said Deryn. "I'm not meant for royalty, and I can't be a princess! And if we're leaving tonight, that means I won't be able to see Alek again..."

"I'm sorry, Deryn," said Adela, embracing the princess who was close to tears. "You can never see this 'Alek' boy again, plus you have to agree with your real parent's wishes. They agreed when you were born that you and that Prince should be married so Europe may have peace."

Deryn shoved Adela away roughly. "I don't _barking _care about the war, and I don't want to be a _barking_ princess!" she declared. "I, most of all, don't want to marry a _barking _prince because my prince is ALEK!" With that, Deryn dropped her bag and ran to her room, leaving Lilit and Adela shocked.

But Dr. Barlow suddenly started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Adela asked.

Dr. Barlow snorted. "It really has happened, huh."

"What happened?" asked Lilit.

"The name of the Clanker prince is Aleksandar, and his nickname is Alek," Dr. Barlow replied.

"So?" said Lilit with a raised eyebrow.

"So, pop quiz. What is the name of Deryn's 'prince'?"

Adela raised her hand. "Ding-ding-ding. Alek."

"Correct," said Dr. Barlow. "So there is a high chance that the boy Deryn met in the forrest was actually the Clanker prince himself."

"But how will we know?" asked Lilit. Suddenly, Bovril crawled out of Deryn's bag, looked up to the three fairies, and said, _"Guten tag."_

Dr. Barlow pointed at Bovril. "That, Lilit, is how we'll know."

Adela gasped. "Isn't that...?"

"My gift to the prince when he was born?" Dr. Barlow finished. "Yes."

"So it has happened, huh," said Adela.

"I don't get it," said Lilit. "What happened?"

"Our Deryn doesn't know that the person she fell for will be the person she'll marry," Dr. Barlow explained. "I said 'happened' because the Clanker king said himself they would fall for each other once they meet."

"Barking destiny," said Bovril.

"Shouldn't we tell her, then?" asked Lilit. "Deryn has the right to know."

"Nah, let's just make it part of our surprise for her," said Adela.

"Adela? Lilit? Dr. Barlow?" Deryn called from the stairs, and the three fairies looked up to see Deryn's tear-streaked face. "I changed my mind. I'll marry the Clanker prince."

"What? Are you sure, Deryn?" asked Adela.

The princess nodded. "You taught me many times that I should put others before myself. Therefore, I'll push through with the marriage if it's good for others." With those words, she cried even more.

"It's all right, Deryn," reassured Lilit. "We know this is hard for you. But we'd like you to know that you made us proud, and you won't regret this!" Lilit winked at Adela and Dr. Barlow.

"Shall we go then?" asked Dr. Barlow.

"S-sure," said Deryn, wiping her tears. "I'll just go a decent dress."

"Dresss?" said Adela. "I thought you hate dresses."

"I need to look good in front of my parents," Deryn said, and went back to her room without another word.

Dr. Barlow sighed. "This is turning out to be harder than I thought."

The messenger eagle heard enough. With that, it spread its wings and flew to Nikola Tesla's tower to report everything it just heard.

* * *

The palace, though a place of luxury, seemed more like a prison now to Deryn.

Sure, it was nice seeing her parents after sixteen years, but there was a huge hole in her heart that seemed like it would never be filled. After sending her to her chambers to get ready, Deryn was alone again, and it was a good opportunity to cry again.

So she did.

After what seemed like hours of letting it out, Deryn saw a strange, green light coming from the fire place. She came closer, and saw that there were stairs in the fire place, so she climbed it. She finally reached a room, and inside was an old woman who was working on something with this weird contraption that had a huge wheel on it.

"What's that?" Deryn asked, pointing to it.

"Oh, this?" said the woman. "It's a spinning wheel. You use it to spin cloths. Want to try it? It's very easy to use." Little did Deryn know that the woman she was talking to was actually a minion of Tesla sent to get Deryn to prick her finger on it.

And Deryn did prick her finger on it, which is why when the three fairies came upstairs they saw her passed out on the floor. They took Deryn to her bedroom, lay her on the bed, and cast a sleeping spell on everyone in the kingdom so that if Deryn is awakened they will awake too.

"Wait!" said Adela after casting the spell. "Deryn can only wake up if her true love kisses her! We need to find Prince Alek!"

* * *

Alek was sick of everything.

He was sick of having an arranged marriage. He was sick of being told what he has to do. He was sick of having to be married since it's the Darwinist princess' bithday today and the wedding day is tomorrow. He was sick of the Clanker and Darwinist war. And most of all, he was sick of not being able to see Deryn.

It was weird really: he meets a girl who dresses up like a boy, and yet he automatically likes her. Even if she is a bit indecent and annoying. Alek was looking forward to seeing her again that he made it a point to get flowers for her, despite how cliché it sounded.

After putting his walker at the pond where they met, he took the five-minute walk to Deryn's cottage, which he saw in the distance, and knocked at the door when he arrived.

"Deryn?" he whispered. The door opened slightly, and Alek took that as a signal to go in. The cottage was pitch-black, and the door suddenly shut behind him. Alek turned to find Nikola Tesla.

"How delightful!" Tesla said, though he didn't sound so delightful. "I set up a trap for peasants, yet I catch a prince!"

Alek pulled out his fencing sword from his scabbard and pointe it at the evil guy. "Tesla!"

"Yes, yes. Everyone knows who I am," Tesla said with a wave of his hand. "And I know very well that you are Prince Aleksandar. You're the one Princess Deryn has affections for."

"P-princess Deryn? What do you mean by that?" Alek's sword point wavered.

"I mean, Deryn has been lying to you this whole time. Which is why she got the punishment she deserved." Tesla's hand moved over the nearby mirror, and it showed an image of Deryn being asleep in the palace. "She will remain sleeping forever unless her true love awakens her with a kiss, and since you're her true love, you could either give her that rightful punishment or save her."

Alek's grip tightened on the sword. "Then I choose to save her! I don't care if she lied to me all this time. I lied to her as well, saying I'm not the prince. And besides, now that you tell me she's the princess, you just saved Europe. Thank you very much and have a good day." Alek went to the door and was about to leave when suddenly he was stopped by Germans.

"You made your choice," Tesla said coldly. "And I must now use force."

Alek's vision became black, and the Germans took him away to Tesla's tower, laughing in glee.

* * *

Adela picked up the fencing sword from the floor, and sighed when she saw it had the mark of the Clankers on it. "We were too late," she said. "They got here before we did."

"Then we have no choice!" said Lilit, cracking her knuckles. "Let's head to Tesla's tower!"

"You say that as if it's just a vacation," Adela snapped. "We're walking straight into a trap you know!"

"Ladies, ladies," said Dr. Barlow. "Now's not the time for an argument. We need to rescue Prince Alek so we can rescue Deryn and save Europe! Who cares if it is Tesla's tower? We can make it if we believe, and we must not think of losing because it will make us lose!" She took a deep breath, then continued. "There. You brought out my diplomat side. Now will we go or not?"

Adela and Lilit looked at each other, and Lilit said, "The answer's quite obvious now, isn't it?"

The three fairies head out of the cottage and went to the west where Tesla's tower and newly built weapon, Goliath, lay. They made it through the first sets of guards in the tower, and made it to the deepest dungeon of Tesla after a while. They could hear he was talking to Alek.

"... I will destroy the Darwinist kingdom, using my weapon, Goliath. Everyone you love- your parents, your tutors, the princess most of all-will die. And you can't do anything to stop that from happening!"

They could hear Alek say something, but it was muffled by both Tesla's laughs and a cloth over his mouth probably. The door opened, and Tesla came outside laughing. He locked the door and left with the keys spinning on his index finger. After his laughs faded, the three fairies unlocked the door using one of Lilit's bombs.

"Good evening, your majesty," Dr. Barlow said politely. "We're here to rescue you."

Adela removed the cloth over the prince's mouth. Alek took a deep breath and said, "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Lilit," she replied. "The one in the lab coat is Dr. Barlow, and the one who removed your gag is Adela. We were Deryn's caretakers."

"Were," said Alek as Dr. Barlow removed his chains. "How can I be sure I can trust you?"

Adela threw a sleeping Bovril at Alek. "Here's your proof. Look, do you want to rescue your girlfriend or not?"

"Corrections," said Alek, handing Bovril back to Adela. "One, she is NOT my girlfriend. She's my fiancee. Two, I don't want to rescue her. I _need _to rescue her."

A huge "boom" sounded from upstairs, and Lilit turned to Alek. "Tesla's getting ready to use Goliath! You need to go now!" She handed the prince his fencing sword.

"I'll go. Give Bovril back to me when Deryn awakes." Alek said, putting his sword in its scabbard. "Now, which way do I go?"

"When you're at the bottom," said Dr. Barlow, "the only way to go is up."

Alek nodded, thanked the three quickly, and went to the highest point of Tesla's tower. The Germans who saw him escape tried to stop the prince but he beat them easily. Once a person is fueled up by love, he or she cannot be stopped. And Alek was fueled up, making his way as fast as he could up the tall tower.

After what seemed forever, Alek found himself in front of a door. He opened it slowly and saw Tesla at Goliath's controls. His walking stick was on the table, unguarded. The prince quietly entered, aiming to get the walking stick. It was just within his reach when Tesla suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Good evening, your highness," Tesla said. "May I know what the heck are you doing outside the dungeon?"

"That's not important," Alek said. "What's important is that if you don't want me to interfere, you should fight me and kill me off instead."

"That sounds divine," said Tesla. "I'd rather make you suffer, but this is probably the better way. I'll make you suffer through a fight."

Tesla's walking stick lit up with sparks of electricity, and he shot it at the prince. Alek's reflexes helped, and he automatically dodged the sparks. Tesla shot again and again, but Alek easily dodged. With that, Alek stood in front of Goliath's controls, and as Tesla shot him, he dodged, and the controls were fried. Tesla cried out, cursing. He dropped his walking stick, and tried to fix the controls. Alek seized the walking stick and pointed it at Tesla, whose back was turned.

"It's no use," Alek said. "Just surrender. The weapon can't work anymore."

"One thing you should know about me," Tesla murmured, "is that I always have back-up." Tesla pulled out a small remote with a button on it and pressed it. Alek heard Goliath charge up, and from the window sparks of electricity were released from the weapon.

"Ha ha ha!" Tesla said as Alek's grip tightened around the walking stick. "The Darwinist kingdom shall crumble! Nothing can stop me now!"

"One thing you should know about me," Alek murmured, "is that I am Nothing, so I can stop you now." The walking stick lit up with electricity, and it hit Tesla.

What happened next was pretty obvious. Tesla died. And Alek destroyed the remote, therefore shutting Goliath off forever.

* * *

The prince was climbing up the steps of the castle. He'd been in almost every room of the Darwinist king's palace before (long story), but he was now going to the room he'd never been to before.

Deryn's room. Because it was always locked.

The glow worms on the ceiling guided him on, but a weird feeling was invading him, like the waves washing up on the shore. He and Deryn just met a few hours a go, yet all of this happened; he fell in love. She felt the same way. She gets cursed to stay asleep until she is awakened by her true love. He gets kidnapped by a lunatic. He kills that lunatic.

And now he has to kiss her.

It all seemed cliché to him, as if someone had set all of this up. Probably it was his parents and Deryn's parents, or those three fairies from earlier. Maybe even that Tesla dude. But either way, Alek was reaching the grand finale of this story, and it was now up to him to end it.

He reached the end of the corridor, and in front of him was a wooden door. Alek didn't knock (no one would open it since the one inside was sleeping) and entered the room, which was slightly dark aside from the glow worm lamp on Deryn's side table. Alek approached the bed, and Deryn was asleep true enough.

Her sandy-colored hair was slightly longer now, but was still boy short. Sure, girls with hair that short seemed inappropriate, but it actually looked really good on her. She snored slightly, a sound which sounded like rippling water. He was definitely sure now that she was a reincarnation of nature. There was simply no one else he knew like her.

And he would give anything just to see those ocean-blue eyes again. He killed a person just so he could save her, and to save her he needs to kiss her.

So he did.

It was brief, lasting only seven seconds maybe. But something tight around the prince's heart loosened, something that had its grip ever since he met this girl.

Deryn's eyes opened, and she stared at Alek like the way a bulldog stares at the sun. "Alek? Is that you?" she said, sitting up. "Did you just...?"

"It's me, and yes. I did," Alek said sheepishly. "It was the only way you could wake up."

"Huh," said Deryn, then smirked. "I've been waiting for that. It was really overdue."

Alek laughed. "You think?"

Deryn nodded. "And I do believe another one is due."

They kissed again. And this kiss was longer, surpassing the five greatest kisses in the history of the Darwinist and Clanker kingdoms. The profoundness of their lips touching and their tongues clashing and Alek's hand cupping Deryn's cheek blotted out any thoughts of wrongdoing or responsibility.

They were kissing and kissing then it was suddenly over. They parted, and Deryn put her hand on Alek's chest. "I need to breathe, _dummkopf,_" she said.

"Okay," said Alek. She took his hands, and they stared at each other. It seemed more intense than the kissing. A silence had settled over, and Alek broke it by saying, "You could have told me you were the Darwinist princess. That means we'll be married tomorrow."

"I didn't know until I got home," Deryn said. "And since you mentioned that, you could've told me you were the Clanker prince. That would've saved so much tears."

"I'm sorry then," said Alek. "But since we are pretty much getting hitched tomorrow, now that I know today's your birthday, I'll ask you two important questions. You need to answer truthfully. One: do you HONESTLY like me?"

"What kind of question is that?" Deryn snorted. "I don't _like _you. I _love _you!"

Alek sighed in relief. "I love you too, Deryn. Now, two: will you marry me? What our parents said shouldn't affect your answer."

"You're asking such stupid questions. Of course I'll marry you, _dummkopf_!"

Alek sighed again. "That's good to hear. We should go check on our parents now, shouldn't we? It will cause them less worry."

"Aye. We should."

* * *

Everyone was waking up around the Darwinist kingdom, but the first to wake up were King Artemis and King Franz. Before the sleeping spell was cast, King Franz was talking to King Artemis about Alek saying he was in love with a commoner.

"Oh, ah, forgive me, Franz, the wine..." said Artemis, waking up slowly as everyone nearby started to wake up. "Now, you were saying?"

King Franz stretched, yawned, and said, "My son, Aleksandar, said he was in love with-"

"Hark! Hark!" The Duke Eddie Malone called from his station, interrupting the Clanker king. "I present the prince of the Clankers and the princess of the Darwinists, Aleksandar and Deryn."

Just on cue, Alek and Deryn came downstairs, arm in arm. Huge smiles played on their lips, their faces somewhat flushed, and their was a gleam in their eyes as they looked at each other.

King Artemis caught their smiles. "Deryn!"

King Franz's eyes widened. "And Alek!"

The both of them kneeled down before the two kings, and Deryn hugged both her parents after. The princess also turned to greet King Franz and Queen Sophie, and she took Alek's hand. He guided her to the dance floor as the Clanker stared at them, confused.

"But a while a go Alek said he was in love with a commoner," said Franz to Sophie.

Sophie shrugged. "Maybe Alek thought Deryn was a commoner. It seems as if they know each other very well already."

The three fairies watched from the castle's balcony as the prince and the princess danced together. They had done their job well, and it was all thanks to Alek the princess was saved. A tear escaped Adela's eyes as she watched the happy couple.

"You okay?" said Bovril, who was now awake on Lilit's lap.

Adela sniffed. "I just love happy endings!"

"I guess that's one thing we have in common," said Dr. Barlow. "Aside from the fact that your taste in color is terrible." She waved her wand and changed Deryn's red dress to blue.

"What the...? You're the one with terrible taste! Red!" Adela wrote in on a paper, and Deryn's dress turned red.

But as the debate on what color Deryn's dress should be raged on, the couple danced happily on the dance floor, and they pretty much lived happily ever after.

**THE END**

* * *

**Good? Bad? Terrible? Inform me through reviews!**


	2. The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen was-and still is-my favorite fairy tale. After doing a little research and reading it over and over again, I decided to make a Dalek version of the tale. So, here it is! I hope you enjoy it. :)

Setting: Around the 1890's to the 1900's, in a place somewhat like Denmark or something. You decide for yourself.

Disclaimer: Roses are red, Violets are blue. Scott owns Leviathan. Keith does, too.

* * *

It all started when Nikola Tesla made a mirror.

What's so important about this mirror, you might ask? With Tesla being in charge of his evil organization, he needed to find a way to teach all the members his ways. Thus he created it. This mirror could make every beautiful thing appear terrible, and everything good bad. This mirror also made ugly things appear more distorted than ever.

Tesla's goons loved the mirror so much they attempted to look at the whole world through the mirror, but as they got higher and higher the mirror fell from their grasp and crashed to the earth. It shattered into millions of pieces, some smaller than grains of sand.

The wind carried the pieces away, getting into the eyes and hearts of people. Being hit in the eye is already bad, as they will be like the mirror: seeing only bad things. But once the piece hits your heart, there will be a brief pain. After, you will move on as if nothing happened. But your heart will already be as frozen as a block of ice, and you will be cold and distant to everybody.

* * *

"Scissors! I win again!" Alek yelled in victory.

"Unfair!" said his playmate, Deryn. "That was the third time!"

Around the time the mirror's pieces were flying around the earth, there lived two playmates named Alek and Deryn. Alek had just moved in to their village, Leviathan, and those two had automatically become friends.

"Now, now, calm down you two," said Alek's mother, Sophie, as she put the hot chocolate on the table. "You'll disturb the neighbors."  
"But Alek's being unfair, Miss Chotek!" Deryn complained. "It's my turn to win!"

"You can continue your games later," said Sophie calmly. "There's something I need to show you first."

Alek and Deryn took their hot chocolate and made their way to the window, where Sophie stood. It was snowing heavily outside, the snowflakes dancing in the cold wind. The fire in the hearth kept them warm as they gazed in awe at the snow.

"The white bees are swarming again," said Sophie. "It's that time of the year."

"Snow bees?" asked Deryn.

"She means snowflakes. We call it that back in Vienna," Alek explained, then turned to his mother. "Do they have a queen too?"

Sophie nodded and sipped her coffee. "She always stays in the center of the swarm. On snowy nights, she flies through the streets of the town and looks in at the windows. Perhaps you've seen the ice patterns she leaves behind."

Alek nodded and smiled. "Yes, I've seen them!"

Deryn smiled. "I have too."

With that, Deryn's mother called from the other house. She finished her chocolate, said goodbye, and left. Sophie packed all the mugs away, but Alek kept staring at the snow outside, mesmerized. As he watched, the snowflakes piled up until they took the shape of a woman. She was made of glittering snow, and her eyes shone like stars but there was no peace in them. She nodded and beckoned to Alek. He jumped back, surprised, and in that moment a huge shadow passed the window as if a great bird flew by.

* * *

Winter and Spring flew by quickly, and it was another summer day. Alek and Deryn were playing in the small garden in between their houses. The roses were blooming, and they were enjoying each other's company as they played games again.

"Rock! Man, you have terrible luck with these games," said Alek.

"Just keep in mind, your princeliness, that you may win in this, but I'll always be taller than you," Deryn replied. "It's hard to believe I'm turning fourteen soon and you're shorter!"

The church bells struck the hour, and Alek suddenly cried out. "There's something in my eye!" Then he cried again. "Something sharp hit my heart!"

Deryn tried hard not to laugh, but she could see Alek was in pain. So she laughed and cried.

"I think it's gone now," said Alek after a while. But he was wrong, as a splinter of Tesla's mirror hit his eye, and another one hit his heart. As if on instinct, Alek began to make fun of Deryn. "Why are you crying? You look so ugly when you cry. No wait. You've been ugly all this time! Why do I even play with you?"

He looked around the garden and pointed to one of the roses. "That rose is growing up all crooked, and this one's being eaten by a worm," he said, and pulled them off and stamped on them.

"What are you doing, Alek?" Deryn exclaimed, surprised that he was ruining the flowers that reminded her of him. Alek turned to her, pulled out another flower, and went home, leaving Deryn alone in the garden.

* * *

Winter came in a flash, as if Autumn didn't come at all. It was a lonely winter for Deryn, as Alek never came over to play with her, and she wasn't allowed to visit him anymore; He didn't want her around. Curse that summer day! Curse whoever hurt him! Because of that day and that person, their friendship was more shaky than ever.

Alek passed by her house as she was at the front door. He pulled his sled along with him as he head to the plaza. He turned back to her and yelled, "I was allowed to go down to the plaza to play with the older boys!" And he left without looking at her again.  
Deryn sighed. She knew something like this would come eventually, but she still couldn't believe it was playing out right in front of her eyes. It was a custom in Leviathan for the bigger boys to tie their sleds to the farmers' carts and get a ride. Deep down, she was hoping Alek would let her join him, but those hopes melted away as he approached the plaza.

Alek looked among all the carts around, and saw a big white sled come into the square. He quickly tied the sled to it, as he wanted to show the others how daring he was. The cart went faster and faster, and soon Leviathan was far behind him. Alek wanted to untie his sled, but each time he was about to the driver smiled so kindly at him that he didn't. The snow fell more now, and the sled was as fast as the wind. He tried to pray, but the only thing he could remember was the types of Walkers.

After what seemed like hours, the sled stopped and the driver stood up to look at him. Alek knew her at once. She was the Snow Queen!

"How cold you look," she said in a gentle way. "Come closer and let me warm you."

She put her cloak around Alek and kissed his forehead. It was like an icy wound, but at once Alek felt stronger. He looked up to the Snow Queen again, and he thought he never saw anyone as wise as she was. The longer he looked, the more he forgot, and soon all memory of Deryn and his family vanished.

The cart set out again, and soon they were flying in the sky. They circled many times over Leviathan, but it brought Alek no memory. They flew above lakes and oceans, and Alek could hear many things at once. The moon came out and smiled at them as they travelled. When daytime came, Alek slept at the Snow Queen's feet.

* * *

It didn't feel any different for Deryn when spring came. People kept saying that Alek must have drowned in the river near the plaza last winter, but she refused to believe that. Sure, he was a dummkopf every now and then, but he would know better than to get himself in danger like that.

She went to the river one day, wearing her new shoes. She took them off, threw them at the water and said, "Did you take Alek away from me? Take my shoes if you can give him back to me."

The shoes landed far away from the shore, but the river carried them back as if saying it didn't take him. Deryn did not give up. She climbed into a rowboat nearby and threw the shoes again. Just then, the river's current picked up the boat, and Deryn found herself floating down the river.

"Maybe it will take me to where Alek is," she thought, and sat perfectly still in the boat with her bare feet. The view of the shores awed her and sparrows flew near the boat as if to comfort her. The boat finally drifted into a cherry orchard and rested at the shore.  
A lady came out of a small house nearby and caught hold of the boat with her shepherd's crook. "You poor little thing," she cooed. "Tell me your name and how you got here."

"My name is Deryn Sharp," Deryn replied. "I'm searching for my friend, Alek." And she proceeded to explain how she got there.

"I'm Adela, by the way," the lady replied. "Don't be so sad. I'm sure that Alek boy will get here. I have some cherries in my house. Why not stay and eat?"

Adela took Deryn by the hand and led her to the house. The windows were made of tinted glass and there was a strange light in the room. On a table was a bowl of cherries, and Deryn dug in to the sweet taste. She began to think of Alek less and less.

Adela knew magic, but she was not evil. She always wanted a little girl. So that evening, she went to her garden and pointed her shepherd's crook to the roses. They sank into the ground and disappeared. Adela feared that if Deryn saw them, she would remember Alek and leave.

The next day, she took Deryn outside and showed the garden. The girl enjoyed the sunshine and came to know all the flowers in the garden, but one was always missing and she couldn't remember which.

Deryn might have stayed there forever, until one day she passed by a painting of roses in the house. She leaped up and ran outside. There were no roses in the garden! She fell onto the ground and wept out of anger. Where her tears fell, rose bushes sprang up and at once she remembered Alek.

"I've stayed here for too long!" she declared. "I need to find Alek! Do you know where he is?"

"Alek isn't dead," the roses replied. "We've been where all the dead are, and we didn't see him among them."

Deryn ran around the garden, asking all the flowers where Alek was. But they only knew the words to their songs. In despair, she ran out of the garden and ran away from Adela's house. The world was cold outside, and Deryn realized it was already late autumn. In Adela's garden the seasons never changed. It was always spring, yet flowers of all seasons bloomed at once.

"So much time, wasted!" she muttered. "I can't go back anymore!"

The girl ran through fields and forests, though the ground was cold and her bare feet stung. The leaves fell off the trees slowly, and a cold mist swept wherever she went. The world seemed more harsh away from Adela's house.

Deryn arrived at a dark forest. The snow fell softly, and a messenger eagle landed on a nearby branch. "Good evening," it said.

"Good evening," Deryn replied politely. "Have you seen my friend Alek by any chance?"

"Maybe," it said. "There's a castle not far from here and in it lives a princess. Recently she took a husband, a young man who is rumored to be afraid of nothing."

"That sounds a bit like Alek," Deryn mused. "But he's too young to be married. He's probably fifteen already."

"Maybe," the eagle answered. "He is said to have reddish-brown hair and emerald green eyes. Many before him tried to win the princess, but it was him she wanted because he knew the most useless facts."

"Yes, that's Alek," said Deryn. "Practically everything he knows is useless. Can you take me to the castle? I need to see him at once."

The eagle stared at Deryn then nodded. It rose up into the air and flew alongside her. As they entered the castle, Deryn was filled with longing and jealousy. As much certain as she was that the bridegroom was Alek, she was jealous that this princess had the nerve to take Alek away from her. But what mattered was that she would see him again, and he would smile the smile she always loved.

This scene played over and over again in her head, but it stopped when suddenly there was a whirling, rushing sound, and shadows moved up from the walls.

"Those are only dreams come to fetch the princess and her bridegroom," the eagle explained. "They'll be asleep soon, and you'll learn if he's the one you seek."

They entered the room. Deryn peeked at the bridegroom where he lay and saw his hair on the pillow. "It is Alek!" she gasped. But the dreams rushed in again, and the bridegroom awoke, staring at Deryn.

It was not Alek! Not Alek at all!

With no thought of the royals who were in front of her, and of how she might wake up the princess, Deryn cursed extravagantly and cried, trying in vain to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"What's wrong?" asked the prince as the princess slowly woke up. "Tell me what is the matter."

As Deryn told them, the princess held her close. After, the prince and princess had an agreement. They said she must stay the night, and in the morning they gave her a silk dress and a pair of boots. They also gave her a golden coach drawn by four horses. For a time, the eagle flew alongside her. But they parted as they reached the end of the forest, and Deryn felt more sad and isolated than ever.

Eventually they came to a stand of trees along the roadside. Hidden among them was a band of robbers, and the golden coach attracted them. "Gold! Gold!" they yelled, flinging themselves upon it. They took the horses, killed the coachman and dragged Deryn out upon the road.

"She must be very rich to have a carriage like that," a robber lady said. "Let's kill her and take all her possessions." She took out a long knife from her belt, and her eyes sparkled with greed.

"No!" yelled one of the younger robbers. "She's mine! I'll make her part of our group."

The lady turned to see Lilit talking, and since she was one of the leaders of the group they had to agree. They took Deryn to their headquarters, which were black with smoke. Ravens flew in and out, and dogs roamed around but did not bark. Two pigeons were kept in a cage and a reindeer stood tied near Lilit's bed. Late at night Lilit asked Deryn if she was a princess.

"I am not," Deryn replied, and told Lilit about her quest to find Alek.

Lilit stared at her seriously, then nodded. "You can't stay here then. But I can't just let you leave without knowing where you're going." Lilit looked to the pigeons in the cages and asked, "Do you know where Deryn's friend is?"

The pigeons nodded. "We have seen Alek. He is in the Snow Queen's palace. She has carried him to a land far north. You must ask the reindeer where it is. He would know."

"Oh yes," said the reindeer. "Ice and snow are always there. It is a wonderful place. There an animal can roam freely, and that was where I was born." It grew silent, remembering what it lost.

"There you go," said Lilit. "You will leave tomorrow morning. Take the reindeer. He will carry you to your friend."

Deryn hugged Lilit. "Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?"  
"Just leave your dress and boots," she said. "That's all I need. And I'm always willing to help if it involves love. People keep on misjudging us robbers."

That morning, Lilit tied Deryn onto the reindeer's back and gave her some meat and two loaves of bread. Away they rode, as fast as they could, farther to the north. They could hear wolves and ravens, and soon the sky was filled with the Northern Lights.

At last they came to a small cottage. A lady boffin came out, and they told her where they were bound. "You must find my friend, Dr. Barlow," she replied. "She'll be able to help you." She gave them supplies and wrote a note. They set off at once after.

They reached Dr. Barlow's house, and they had to knock at the chimney since the house was buried in snow. But Dr. Barlow's house was as hot as an oven. She gave Deryn some hot chocolate and the reindeer some ice to cool his head. She read what was written on the note as Deryn fell asleep in the corner.

"You are very wise," said the reindeer to Dr. Barlow. "Can't you make a potion for Deryn so she can defeat the Snow Queen?"

Dr. Barlow smiled. "I can give her no more power than she has already. Don't you see how people and animals serve her? Don't you see how far she has journeyed with her bare feet? Deryn's power is in her heart. Her goodness, innocence, and determination are her only weapons against the Snow Queen. If she herself cannot save Alek, then there is nothing we can do for her."

She woke Deryn up and put her on the reindeer's back. They ran a short way over the snow-covered ground and the reindeer set her down on beside a book with red berries. It was at the edge of the Snow Queen's palace. Deryn only looked back once, and she could see its face streaked with tears. Then she followed the path towards the Snow Queen's palace as fast as she could.

The snowflakes whirled just above the ground, but they struck Deryn with more fear than awe. The snowflakes grew larger and larger and they formed shapes of beasties everywhere, from krakens to behemoths. They wore cruel, grinning faces, and they were-as much as Deryn didn't like it-truly alive. She realized that they were the Snow Queen's army.

Deryn stopped short. Her breath came fast, forming vapor in the frozen air. As she stood there it became more solid and the air turned into a band of angels armed with bows and arrows. They fired it at the snow beasties, shattering them into a thousand pieces. Nothing came after that, and Deryn was able to enter the Snow Queen's palace.  
The palace walls glittered with ice and the windows and doors were made of wind. In the glare of the Northern Lights Deryn could see the gates open before her. The Snow Queen's palace was echoing, vast, and cold. Yet Deryn had come this far, and nothing scared her anymore.

She ran through halls of drifted snow that turned and twisted for miles. At last she saw a figure in the distance, blue with cold, seated on a frozen lake. Deryn gasped. It was Alek! He was playing with pieces of ice, arranging them into patterns. The game was very important because the Snow Queen had promised that if he could form the right word she would set him free and give him a new pair of skates. The word was "Eternity", but Alek couldn't remember it no matter how hard he tried.

Deryn was overcome with many emotions. He didn't even look up when she called his name. She rushed to him and threw her arms around the poor, stiff boy. She cried on the spot and her tears washed the splinter away from his heart. It was only then Alek realized Deryn was there.

"Deryn?" Alek blinked. "Is that you? Where have you been all this time? What is this place? Why is it so cold and empty here?" He looked around him, remembering everything that ever happened, and burst into tears, removing the splinter in his eye. And he held onto Deryn as if he would never let her go. She kissed him a few times, and he became healthy and cheerful again, saved thanks to Deryn's love.

They were so glad to be together again that Alek pulled Deryn into a one-sided waltz, and eventually it became two-sided with Deryn joining him, laughing joyfully. The ice pieces Alek was playing with were caught in their dance, and when they stopped the ice pieces formed the word Alek was trying to make. Now the Snow Queen would return, and it wouldn't matter because Alek's right to freedom was written on the frozen lake.

Deryn took his hand and they walked out of the Snow Queen's palace. They talked about Sophie and of the roses that grew in the garden between their houses. The wind died down, the snowflakes ceased falling, and the sun shone through the clouds. They reached the place where the reindeer was waiting, but this time it was with another reindeer, one much younger. Alek and Deryn climbed on the reindeers' backs and the animals carried them along until blades of grass broke through the snow.

The two waved goodbye as the reindeers left, in a place where it was now early spring. The birds were singing and the trees were green again in the distance. They could also see the towers of Leviathan mixed with the trees.

Soon they were in the same old garden where they used to play, and nothing at all seemed to change. But Deryn looked at Alek, and Alek looked at Deryn, and they saw that they were no longer children. They grew up, Alek being maybe nineteen and Deryn eighteen. The roses bloomed in the garden, and they sat on the grass hand-in-hand. All memory of the Snow Queen's palace and its empty splendor disappeared like snow melting, and they sat quietly in the garden on a beautiful summer day.

* * *

Done! So, what do you think? Took me around three days to finish writing this story, but it seemed kind of short after I re-read it. Well, that's what happens when you go to a place without Internet with your iPad nearly out of battery. So I need positive reviews! Thank you!


	3. May Day Eve

May Day Eve is a short story by Nick Joaquin that is based on a popular superstition in the Philippines, where I live. I read the story after my Social Studies teacher recommended it to me. And I wasn't exactly thinking about writing this in the first place, but then I was bored and we had no Internet again so yeah.

Setting: Some time around the 1840's to the 1890's, in a place where people are really superstitious and religious. Also, Alek and Deryn are around nineteen or twenty here.

Disclaimer Haiku:

May Day Eve, Joaquin

Leviathan, Westerfeld

Versions stays with me.

Oh, and important warning: Alek might be a little OOC here. Also Dr. Barlow and Deryn. But I hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

Franz Ferdinand, owner of the mansion where the party was held, said that the celebration party should be finished by ten o'clock, but the carriages that should take the students home arrived at almost midnight. The girls who were there were promptly herded upstairs. They greeted the other students good night, and those students sighed sadly upon them taking their leave.

How could they be so sleepy on this majestic May Day Eve, with the night so young and seductive? They had just returned from the other countries after studying there for nearly seven years, and the party had been in their honor in the first place. They waltzed, polka-ed, bragged, and flirted endlessly with the girls there. There was no mood to sleep yet, not on this beautiful May Day Eve!

Since the students were having fun, they went around catching fireflies, swimming in the river nearby, and serenading the neighbors, mostly the girls whose bedrooms were upstairs. Those girls sighed, ravished with love, lamenting about how carefree boys were and how terrible it was to be a girl until Dr. Barlow pulled them by the ear or pigtail so they'd go back to bed.

It was May again, and Dr. Barlow mentioned to the girls that the first night of May was a night of divination, lovers, and mystery. She also mentioned to them that those who were brave enough to look in the mirror would see the one they would marry. The girls were more afraid by what Dr. Barlow said and demanded that she stop.

"Enough, Dr. Barlow! I want to sleep!" Lilit, one of the girls, demanded.

"Go talk to Count Volger instead!" said Adela, one of Dr. Barlow's friends.

"Why Count Volger?" asked Lilit, her eyebrow raised.

"Because they seem to be getting closer lately," Adela smiled, her eyes twinkling.

"But Dr. Barlow is married," Lilit replied, more confused.

"That doesn't matter!" exclaimed another girl in exasperation. "Stop scaring us so much, Dr. Barlow!"

"Don't stop her!" yelled Deryn Sharp, the fiercest among all the girls there. "Whom will I marry, Dr. Barlow? Tell me!"

"You may learn in the mirror if you dare," said Dr. Barlow.

"Oh, I dare! I dare!" said Deryn, jumping up and down the bed.

"Calm down, girls," said Sophie Chotek, the lady in charge of the Hohenburg household, who entered the room upon hearing all the noise. "Deryn, lie down. And Dr. Barlow, please stop scaring them."

"I am simply stating the truth, Miss Chotek," Dr. Barlow replied. "It is not my fault if they are scared."

"And I will not lie down!" Deryn cried rebelliously, leaping to the floor. "Please tell me what I have to do, Dr. Barlow."

"Tell her! Tell her!" chimed the other girls in the room.

Dr. Barlow fix her eyes on Deryn, her face serious. "You must take a candle, and go into a room that is dark. It must have a mirror in it and you must be alone in the room. Go up to the mirror, close your eyes and say Mirror, mirror, show to me, he whose lover I will be. If everything goes right, the face of your future husband will appear above your left shoulder."

A silence settled over them. Deryn broke it by saying, "And if it doesn't go right...?"

"God have mercy on you then," Dr. Barlow said.

"Why?"

"Because you might see the devil."

The girls screamed and begged Deryn not to go, but she simply shook her head, her arms crossing over her chest. "That's nonsense. There is no more devil. It's 1835!" Yet she turned pale either way. "I think I can go to the living room. It has a big mirror, and no one is there right now."

"No, Deryn! It is a mortal sin! You will see the devil!" Lilit said.

"I don't care! I'm not afraid! I will go!"

"Go back to bed, Deryn, or I will call your mother over!" said Sophie.

"Give me the candle, Dr. Barlow," said Deryn. "I'll go now."

She handed it to her, already lit, and Deryn sprang into action. Everyone tried to stop Deryn from leaving the room, but being the quickest among them she made it out quickly. She slipped outside and fled down the stairs, as fast as wind, one hand holding the candle tightly and the other tracing the wall. One who saw her might think of her to be a ghost, with her white, flowing night gown, her short hair being blown by the wind, and her face looking like one with the candle's dim glow. But no one was around, the corridors dark save for the moonlight coming from the windows, and the sound of music playing dead in the cool, spring breeze.

She paused in front of the living room's door, trying to remember all the dancing, chatting, and endless flirting in that room during the party earlier, along with the melodious music of the violins and the couples roaming around together, deep in their thoughts of love. But when she slid the door open, it was a dark den, the windows closed and the furniture stacked up at the sides.  
Deryn stepped forward, and she was now facing her reflection at the mirror, a small white figure approaching it slowly. It was very antique, with a cherub's head at the top and golden flowers painted at the sides, outlining the mirror's shape. She stood before the mirror, lifted the candle to her chin level and closed her eyes. Deryn whispered the chant, but she kept her eyes closed after, fearing what she might see if she opened it. Will it be the devil or her future husband? But she heard a step behind her, followed by a smothered giggle, and opened her eyes at once.

* * *

"What did you see, Ma? Tell me!"

For a moment, Deryn nearly forgot about the little girl on her lap. She was looking ahead to that exact mirror she looked at that May Day Eve many years ago, but the wood was slowly rotting, the flowers slowly fading, and the cherub frowning instead of smiling. The face she saw now was that of a middle-aged woman with a child instead of a young, teenage girl with a candle...

"What did you see, Ma?" her daughter said again, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Deryn looked down to her. "I saw... the devil!"

Deryn's daughter paled. "T-the devil? Oh, that's terrible Ma!"

Deryn nodded. "I opened my eyes, and there, right above my left shoulder, was the devil smiling at me."

"Poor Ma. Were you scared?"  
"You can imagine. Which is why good girls should stop looking at the mirror too often, otherwise they might see something terrible. You should stop that habit of always looking into the mirror every time you pass by it, Princess Sophie. You might have the same fate as I did if you keep doing that."

"Please stop calling me that, Ma. I am not a princess!"

"What do you mean by that, Princess Sophie? You're the daughter of a prince," Deryn joked.

"Da said he wasn't a prince anymore. And I don't look at the mirror every time I see one!" Sophie glanced quickly at the mirror, then turned back to her mother. "But anyway, what did the devil look like, Ma?"

"Well, let me try to remember... He had reddish-brown hair-"  
"Like Da?"

"Well, yes, but your Da's hair is greying already. The devil's was just plain reddish-brown. Quite shiny even."

"Go on!"  
"He also had beautiful green eyes."

"Like Da?"

"Oh, no. Your Da's eyes are a lot more peaceful looking, but the devil's eyes were energetic and restless."

"Did he speak to you, Ma?"

"Yes... Yes, he spoke to me." And Deryn bent her head over, remembering what was there when she opened her eyes.

* * *

"What are you doing in front of the mirror so late at night?" he said, smiling at her and stepping back to give her a low, mocking bow. She whirled around to glare at him, and he burst into laughter. "I remember you! You're Deryn Sharp, whom I played with when I was younger and left behind to study abroad. I didn't think I would come home to find you a tremendous beauty, though. You have grown a lot."

"And I know very well that you are Aleksandar von Hohenburg, also known as Alek, the one who left me behind for seven years and the one who danced the waltz with me a while ago," Deryn replied angrily. She had to admit that even after he left her without saying goodbye, she hated that she still loved him.

"We did dance the waltz together, but you wouldn't dance the polka with me."

Deryn gritted her teeth. "Let me pass," she said. She would rather be anywhere else than here, where his princeliness Alek was. But he was blocking her way, and his energetic eyes seemed to be staring deep into hers.

"I want to dance the polka with you, Deryn," he smirked.

They had a very intense staring contest, neither of them backing down and their breaths the only things being heard in the dark room. The candle shone between them, their shadows flickering across the wall.

Alek had come home to pass out on the bed, being tired from the party, but upon seeing Deryn in that room he found himself awake again and ready for anything. His green eyes sparkled upon seeing his childhood friend again, and his hand instinctively took her left hand.

"Let me pass!"Deryn yelled now, but his grip tightened around her wrist.

"No," he smiled. "Not until you dance with me."

"Get stuffed!"

"What a temper my Deryn has!"

"I am not yours!"

"Whose then? Someone I know? Someone I treated meanly? Because you treat me as if I am your mortal enemy."

"And why not?" she snapped, jerking her wrist away and glaring at him. "I've always hated you ever since you left! You left me behind just to study abroad when you promised me when we were younger that we would always stay together! And when you came back, you're not the same Alek I knew anymore! You came back even more like a prince, and you think I'm just a regular girl without grace, fire and salt like those in the other countries! Why can't you get it through your daft head? I hate you for breaking your word, yet I still can't stop liking you!"

Her voice broke at the last word, and he stared at her, shocked, an intense silence settling between them. Deryn burst into tears at the spot, trying to cover her face with her hands. The candle fell from her hand, the fire sputtering out on the floor, and they stood in the darkness, Alek trying to compose himself after what she just admitted.

"I-I'm sorry, Deryn," Alek stammered. "I'm so terrible, really, acting this way. I actually missed you the whole time I stayed away, and I never forgot that promise I made. I was making it through everyday abroad with thinking I was a day closer to being with you again. And I don't think you're just one of those regular girls. You're more than that, you know." He found her hand and brought it to his lips.

"Let me go," Deryn moaned and tugged her hand.

"No. Say you forgive me first. Say you forgive me, Deryn."

Alek staggered backward, the breath driven from his lungs. His back thumped against one of the furniture towers in the corner-she'd punched him in the stomach. Hard. He clenched his fists, anger coursing through his veins. In a flash he could hear her in the dark, and he saw the opportunity to hit her in return. But before he could swing, Deryn took the opportunity to run out of the room, the sound of her skirt rustling like leaves.

Alek clutched his stomach, the pain fueling up his anger. He would make her pay for that! All at once cruel thoughts raced through his head: he would have his parents ban the Sharps from letting their daughter stay here, or he would go to their room, drag her out, and punch her silly face! But at the same time he remembered that they would be going on a boat ride along the river tomorrow morning, and he started to think of ways he could make her be in the same boat as him. He would have his revenge! She deserved a punishment for rejecting his apology, he thought greedily.

But-God's wounds! He remembered her eyes that held the beautiful colors of the sea, her hair that looked like the white sand at the shore, her bare shoulders golden in the candlelight... She was fierce, really, but she was so enchanting! How could she say she didn't have fire or grace? And no salt? She had tons of it, more than all other girls he knew in his life!

"_Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube_," Alek muttered in the room, smiling to himself. "Let others rage war. You, lucky Austria, shall marry."

He realized at once what happened: he had fallen madly in love with her, returning those feelings she had for those seven years he was gone. He ached intensely to see her again, to hold her hand, to see those eyes, to hear her harsh voice. He ran to the window and threw it open, allowing the soft moonlight outside to come in. It was May, a beautiful spring day, and he was young and deliriously in love.

Let the others go on with their pointless fighting! He was in love, and he felt truly lucky for once, more lucky than the time his parents sent him overseas.

This new feeling invaded Alek, making tears fall from his eyes. He would still make her pay, and he would still have his revenge, he thought. But what a night it had been!

"I promise I will never forget this night!" Alek yelled, standing by the window in the dark room, the wind blowing at his hair, the tears falling freely, and the one hand wiping the tears on his face, calling out Deryn's name.

* * *

But some promises are meant to be broken, and May time must pass as well. The seasons must come and go and the heart must grow old. The memories pile up until the mind becomes too crowded, and some memories must be forgotten despite how important they are to a person... and there came a time when Aleksandar von Hohenburg walked home through a May Day Eve without remembering, without even trying to remember what importance the day was in his life.

He was old now, possibly in his mid-seventies. His back was hunched over, his hair as white as snow, and his legs failed him so he had to use a cane. The only moment that memory was remembered was when he was on his way down the hall, glancing to the living room. He shuddered and stopped, his blood cold. There was a figure there, a ghostly candlelit face with eyes closed and lips moving. Alek knew something like that happened before, then suddenly the memory came back to him-he was young, coming home from studying abroad, he danced that night, he stepped in the doorway, he saw a face in the dark, he called out... and the boy standing before the mirror, for it was a thirteen year-old boy in his nightwear, jumped with fright and dropped his candle, the fire sputtering out on the floor, but looking at Alek made him laugh in relief.

"Oh, it was just you, Grandpa," he said. "You frightened me."

Alek had turned very pale and sighed. "So it was you all along, Maximilian. What were you doing in front of the mirror?"

"N-nothing! I am just... I am just..."

"You must be the great Mister Just!" Alek said with a mocking, playful tone. "Nice to meet you, Mister Just! But if I hit you on the head with this cane you might wish you weren't Mister Just!"

Maximilian stayed silent, then said softly, "It was just foolishness, Grandpa. My classmates said I would see my wife."

"Wife? Whose wife?"

"Mine. They told me that I would see her if I looked in a mirror tonight and said Mirror, mirror, show to me, her whose lover I will be."

Alek laughed ruefully. He took Maximilian by the hair, pulling him along, sat on a chair, and put him on his lap. "Let's talk this over, Maximilian. Put my cane down for want your wife already, hey? You want to see her in advance, hey? These are wicked games and wicked boys who play them will be punished severely!"

"Well, the boys did say I might see a witch instead."

"And they're right! A witch so horrible you may die of fright. And she will bewitch you, she will torture you, she will eat your heart and drink your blood!"

Maximilian snorted. "It's 1890 now, Grandpa. There are no witches anymore."  
"What if I tell you that I myself saw a witch?"

"You? Where?"

"In this room, in that mirror," he replied, his tone turning serious.

"When?"

"I was a bit older than you then. I just came home from a party and wanted to rest. But I had to pass through the living room to get to my room, and when I glanced at the mirror I saw... I saw..."

"The witch?"

Alek simply nodded.

"She bewitched you, Grandpa?"

"She did everything I just told you. She bewitched me, she tortured me, she ate my heart and drank my blood."

"Poor Grandpa! Why didn't you tell me? Was she that horrible?"

"Horrible? Heavens, no-she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! Her eyes were like yours, but her hair was like the sand of the shore and... God's wounds, I can't even describe her! But I should've known back then that she was dark and evil."

Maximilian remained silent, looking at the mirror, then whispered, "What a horrid mirror this is, Grandpa."

"What makes you say that now?"

"Well, you saw a witch in it, and Ma told me that Grandma saw the devil in this mirror. Was it because of the fright she died?"

Alek was startled upon hearing Maximilian mention Deryn's death, the lost memory coming back to him at that last word. Among the memories he lost, that was in the list as well. Poor Deryn was set free at last from her old, broken body nearly three, long years ago. She was at rest now from all the brutal moments she had gone through in her last few years. Deryn was a heap of white hair and bones in the end, her sea-blue eyes now a black sea caught in the storm, her sandy hair like the white sea foam, her face like ashes... Nothing was left of her now, save her name on a stone in a graveyard. Nothing was left of the young, fierce girl he fell for on that majestic May Day Eve years ago.  
He remembered the way she sobbed, how punched his stomach and fled, how he smiled to himself, quoting the Hapsburg's motto, and how surprised he was at falling in love. Remembering all of this made the grief he kept at bay crash in. He pushed Maximilian away, ran to the window and threw it open, allowing the soft moonlight outside to come in. Everything he saw reminded him too much of her, and from the distance one could see Alek sobbing so bitterly at the window, the wind blowing at his hair, his tears falling freely, and one hand trying in vain to remove the tears, yelling Deryn's name on that sad May Day Eve.

* * *

Actually, when I first read this, I sort-of cried when it turns out that the girl (her name's Agueda) died in the end. Also, it was quite hard for me, writing about Deryn dying since that seems extremely hard to believe. Even if she technically lived nearly a hundred years before we did. But I guess this was what Nick Joaquin wanted with this story, so I dealt with it.

Aside from that, the real story is actually a lot longer since Nick Joaquin writes really long sentences that can make you sleepy. So I made it a quick read by cutting the sentences shorter. :)

Now, go and review. I need reviews. Also, I would have updated a bit later, but I felt now was the right time. I didn't expect to come back and find thirteen reviews! So thank you thank you thank you thank you so much!


	4. Les Miserables: At the Barricades

I'm back after a hundred years and forty reviews. Updates came late due to lack of ideas and term exams, along with Dalek Week coming around the corner. BUT I DID NOT FORGET TO UPDATE.

Here's a Les Misérables AU where Alek is the one leading the Revolution (Enjolras) and Deryn is the girl who gets friend-zoned (Eponine). THEY ARE MY LES MIS OTP.

But that aside, everyone knows everything I love DOES NOT belong to me, ESPECIALLY Leviathan.

* * *

**PART I: THE AGONY OF DEATH**

* * *

The barricades glowed red due to the flames around it, and gunshots rang out through them. She could hear them, those bourgeois students yelling about a free nation from the evil clutches of the monarchy. She looked around once more and her eyes fell on their leader, the fearless man who was actually the prince of the nation, the one who started all of this. He was shooting the soldiers, as if he was picking off birds in flight, and yelling orders to his comrades.

His name was Alek.

She had warned him that they would fail and lose their lives. He didn't pay attention, and pushed through with all his plans of the Revolution. Because of that, here she was, dressed as a boy, watching all these events stretch out in front of her eyes. She knew very well that going here would be a big mistake. Despite being part of the slums, she was smart enough to know he was leading them, all of them, to death.

But she simply couldn't leave that daft prince alone.

She tried watching her older brother, Jaspert, to distract herself from Alek, but she knew that her brother would be better off without her and that he could defend himself really well. Then suddenly her vision tunneled—the man who came earlier, the one whom Jaspert recognized as a member of the government, was sneaking up right behind the prince, gun in hand. Heaven knows how he got out of the ropes or how he regained consciousness after getting hit on the head, but she had to stop him at once. She scaled the barricades as fast as she could, ignoring the splinters she was getting from the now-broken chairs and tables.

"Alek! Look out!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, and as he looked up she pushed him out of the way, a bullet from the man's gun piercing her stomach. An undescribable pain entered her all at once, mixed with some satisfaction that the prince was at least safe. But it didn't help that she landed on the barricade's hard and uneven surface.

When Alek saw the her blood blooming like a flower on her clothes, at once rage came to him. In a flash he grabbed his gun and shot the man. As the soldiers saw the man fall slowly to the ground, they quickly signaled a retreat and left as soon as possible. The prince looked down at the girl and she gave him a small smile, but clutched her stomach tightly and grimaced as her white blouse turned even more red.

He carried her quickly down the barricade and lay her on the ground. Rain started pouring down, thunder rumbling in the distance, and the prince's comrades were coming close to inspect what happened. But he quickly glared at them, and they kept their distance.

"Why?" he spat out after a few moments of silence. "Why did you come here?"

"I'm dying," she said slowly, observing her bloody hands. "It was my wish. I couldn't just leave you alone. You've heard from me many times that this, all this," she motioned to the barricades around her, "would fail. You would die." She took a slow and ragged breath. "I wanted to go with you or before you. I didn't want to sit around doing nothing while you face death—"

"You're such a _dummkopf_, you know!" he yelled, tears welling up to his eyes. "Why do you always have to be so stubborn?! I didn't want you to come here because I wouldn't know what to do with myself if something happened to you, and look! Here you are, dying slowly next to me, the rain you used to love so much giving you more pain!"

"I don't feel anything," she smiled. "Rain can't hurt me anymore. All I need to know is that you are here beside me." His tears fell now, and she wiped them off his face slowly despite all the pain she was feeling. "Don't cry, your princeliness. I don't want that to be the last thing I see."

He held his tears back and tried to smile at her as well.

"Can you promise me something?" she asked.

"What?" he asked.

"Promise me!"

"I promise you."

"Promise to kiss me. Now."

"There's no need for that kind of promise now, is there?" He leaned forward and kissed her, feeling each others' warmth despite the cold rain. Their bodies came together, softly at first, and then completely. When he pulled away, her eyes sparkled even more and it made him forget momentarily that she was leavinghim forever.

"There's nothing left to say," she said, "but 'See you'."

He nodded, a smile beaming through his tears, and she closed her eyes slowly, life leaving her.

All she saw was black, the color of despair. And the only thing he knew at that moment was the feeling of despair.

* * *

**PART II: AFTER THE AGONY OF LIFE**

* * *

The morning came right after, an enemy to the prince's eyes. He stood at the top of the barricade, his eyes watching the distance, his ears listening for the soldier's footsteps. They would bring cannons now, he guessed. Anything to get rid of the barricade. Anything to get rid of him.

"Chief," said one of his comrades, the one whom he recognized as her older brother. The one named Jaspert. "We have no more ammunition. The rain destroyed all the gun powder."

"We are the only ones left," he muttered after hearing some gunshots cease in the distance.

"What?"

"I said 'we are the only ones left!' Deryn was right all along! All of this would fail!" His voice broke at the last word, and he hung his head. He still hadn't recovered from her being the first to die, nor her dying at all anyway. But the past is in the past; he needed to focus on what was happening in front of him.

"Do you hear the people sing?" he heard someone sing out and looked up to see a girl of around eighteen singing. He recognized her as Lilit, one of the leaders of the Revolution. "Singing the song of angry men?" The others joined her now, including the prince. "It is the music of the people who will not be slaves again. When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes."

As if on cue, a gunshot rang out. The prince looked out to the barricades again, and he could see that his theory of the cannons was proven correct. What he did not expect to see was that the army would be bigger than the last. He looked around to check who was hurt, and that gunshot hit the girl who brought back their hope. Jaspert carried Lilit's body into the cafe and lay her right next to where Deryn lay.

"Your Serene Highness and those with him," called out the leader of the guards.

"Why continue struggling? None will support you in your cause. You have no chance! Why throw your lives away?"

"We won't throw them away!" yelled Jaspert in reply while the prince stayed speechless. "We'll give them up for our homeland! We will not surrender!"

"Fine," said the head of the soldiers. "Load the cannons!"

Everything happening beyond those three words came in a blur for the prince. He could see the barricades being destroyed with the cannons, men running in fear for their lives, the guards showing no mercy, and red, the color red splattered all over the stones below his feet. He counted each one he heard losing their lives.

It was all his fault.

He fought back, even becoming desperate enough to throw broken wine bottles at the guards. But it had no effect, for he now was pinned against the wall, the guards left pointing their guns at him. He smiled. It looks like she was right after all.

"Don't think because you are the prince we will spare your life," said the guards' leader through gritted teeth. "You committed treason, and the king himself gave us orders to kill you."

"Then get on with it already!" he yelled, the bruises and scratches on his face feeling like nothing now. "Quit stalling me with all your blabbering!"

"WAIT!" someone yelled. They all turned to see a boy in the distance, a boy whom the prince recognized as one of Deryn's friends. His name was Newkirk. The boy ran and stood next to him, then said to the guards, "I deserve to die alongside him. I was part of his group." He turned to the prince. "Do you permit it?"

The prince nodded, then looked at his surroundings one last time. He would die at the place where he met Deryn, the place where he planned the Revolution tirelessly, the place where all his dreams were made.

But after looking around once more, he saw Deryn. Her clothes were no longer stained with blood, her face no longer marked by the slums, her smile brighter than ever. She stretched out her hand to him, and he no longer felt the pain of the eight bullets hitting him as he took her hand.

All he saw was red, the color of a new world about to dawn. And the only thing she knew at that moment was the black night at the barricades finally came to an end.

* * *

This is the second time I wrote a fic where people die, so I feel extremely guilty. BUT IT WAS NECESSARY SINCE EVERYONE DIES IN LES MIS.

Please review so I'll feel less guilty.


End file.
